57th annual Father’s Day car show returns to Valley River Center
Valley River Center’s free Father’s Day car show packed the mall with more than 20 classic vehicles and a People’s Choice vote. The 57-year tradition runs through Sunday.
Valley River Center turned Father’s Day weekend into one of Eugene’s few no-cost outings, as the Emerald Empire Vintage Auto Club brought back its 57th annual car show with more than 20 vintage and classic vehicles spread through the mall. The display gave shoppers a chance to vote for the 2026 People’s Choice Winner and added a familiar, hometown feel to a holiday weekend that can get expensive fast.
The show opened Friday, June 19, and runs through Sunday, June 21. Viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, then 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, with the cars displayed throughout the shopping center. Visitors can also stop by Center Court to see last year’s winning vehicle, a small detail that turns the event into more than a walk past chrome and paint.
The club behind the show says the tradition is rooted in preservation as much as display. Valley River Center says the Emerald Empire Vintage Auto Club was founded in 1966 and focuses on restoring and maintaining vehicles from 1928 through 1975, a range that helps explain why the lineup carries so much visual variety. The mix of eras, body styles and colors stands out inside a mall corridor that is usually dominated by everyday traffic and store windows, not tail fins and polished grilles.
That nostalgia is part of the draw for families looking for something close to home. With free admission and an easy voting setup, the show gives children, parents and grandparents a simple way to spend part of the weekend without tickets or parking fees. It also keeps Valley River Center in the role it often fills on holiday weekends in Lane County: not just a retail center, but a place where residents gather, browse and linger.
The car show is not the only automotive stop near the mall this weekend. A Vintage Underground Pop-Up Car Meet is also listed for Sunday outside Valley River Center, adding another layer to an already car-heavy weekend in Eugene. For anyone looking for a low-cost Father’s Day tradition with local history behind it, the mall’s vintage car lineup remains one of the easiest stops in town.
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